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NBA viewers are younger. New demo info on Gender

I find this interesting, not sure if anyone else will. This is good for the NBA to have so many younger viewers. Click on the link to see tables and charts. Also link at the bottom of this post is for a complete list of every game.

Sports Media Watch presents a three-part examination of sports viewer demographics. Today, age and income. Only select sporting events in 2013 were examined — the Bowl Championship Series, NBA Finals, World Series, Stanley Cup Final, NCAA Final Four, U.S. Open tennis tournament and the WNBA Finals. Information for other sports, such as the NFL and NASCAR, was not available.

Sports Media Watch presents a three-part examination of sports viewer demographics. Today, age and income. Only select sporting events in 2013 were examined — the Bowl Championship Series, NBA Finals, World Series, Stanley Cup Final, NCAA Final Four, U.S. Open tennis tournament and the WNBA Finals. Information for other sports, such as the NFL and NASCAR, was not available.

Of the events analyzed, the NBA Finals was far and away the top attraction among younger viewers. The series averaged a 7.1 rating (4.8M viewers) among adults 18-34, with the demo accounting for between 26% and 29% of the audience for each game. That trounced the World Series (3.7, 2.5M), Bowl Championship Series (4.0, 2.6M), and NCAA Tournament Final Four (5.4, 3.7M).

Adults 18-34 made up between 26% and 29% of the audience for each game of the NBA Finals, topping all other events analyzed. The NHL Stanley Cup Final was not far behind, as the demographic accounted for between 22% and 26% of the audience for each game.

The NBA also led among kids 2-17, averaging a 3.5 rating (2.2M viewers). By comparison, the Final Four had a 2.2 (1.4M) in the demo, the BCS had a 2.0 (1.4M), and the World Series had a mere 1.4 (902K).

Kids 2-17 made up between 11% and 14% of the audience for each NBA Finals game, ahead of the other events examined. The demo made up just 5-6% of the audience for each World Series game, lagging behind the Final Four (7-8%), the BCS (8-10%), and the Stanley Cup Final (9-11%). Only tennis’ U.S. Open had a smaller percentage of viewers 2-17 (4-5%).

While younger viewers made up a small portion of the World Series audience, viewers over 55 dominated. The adults 55-99 demo made up between 46% (Game 6) and 52% (Game 3) of the audience for each World Series game, a percentage surpassed only by the U.S. Open (54-62%). The NBA Finals had the smallest percentage of viewers over 55, with the demo making up between 27% and 30% of the audience.

It should be no surprise that the NBA had the lowest median age of the events examined, ranging from 40 (Games 1, 6 and 7) to 43 (Game 5). The Stanley Cup Final was not far behind, ranging from 45 (Games 1 and 6) to 47 (Game 4). The median age ranged from 48-52 for the Final Four, from 48-53 for the BCS, and from 53-55 for the World Series.

While the NBA Finals benefited from a younger audience than the other events, the series ranked second-to-last in viewers’ median income — ahead of only the WNBA Finals. Median income for each game of the series was under $60,000; no other major event examined fell below $64,800.

The Stanley Cup Final led the way in viewer affluence ($73K-$84K), with the two games on NBCSN topping $80,000.

The Stanley Cup Final, which was the youngest skewing event outside of the NBA Finals, would seem to have the mix of youth and affluence that advertisers crave — if only it could get larger numbers overall. It is telling, for example, that while adults 18-34 made up a larger proportion of the audience for the Stanley Cup Final, the old-skewing World Series still attracted more viewers in the demo.

Full data on age and median income is available on the following page. Part two of the ‘Demo Reel’ series will examine sports viewership by gender.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I'm guessing that NBA viewers being younger and having less money is probably related. Middle schoolers generally don't have a lot of cash.

But while younger people have less money, they don't have families or responsibility so they can spend a higher percentage of their money on Doritos and XBOXs and skateboards and whatever else is being a advertised during games.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I'm guessing that NBA viewers being younger and having less money is probably related. Middle schoolers generally don't have a lot of cash.

But while younger people have less money, they don't have families or responsibility so they can spend a higher percentage of their money on Doritos and XBOXs and skateboards and whatever else is being a advertised during games.

No, it is household income. Not the income of the viewers. So that is not a factor.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

No, it is household income. Just the income of the viewers. So that is not a factor.

I was joking with the middle schooler line, but the larger point is the same. Young people, 20s and 30s (half the NBA audience) have less money than people in their 50s+ (half the World Series audience). Just logically the NBA will have less affluent viewers if they have a younger audience.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I was joking with the middle schooler line, but the larger point is the same. Young people, 20s and 30s (half the NBA audience) have less money than people in their 50s+ (half the World Series audience). Just logically the NBA will have less affluent viewers if they have a younger audience.

OK, sorry for not getting your sarcasm. I think you make a good point and I am sure that does bring the medium household income down somne. But Hockey has the second youngest viewers (next after the NBA) and yet hockey has the highest income viewers of all the sports tracked here.

let me make the case why hockey has the highest income viewers. First fewer watch hockey so the sample pool is smaller, hockey is popular in big cities and with white viewers. I know hockey is very expensive to participate in as a youth so it tends to draw the higher income people. As compared to basketball.

Also for clarification: this is a survey of TV viewers. Not people who attend the games

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I think young is good for the NBA, not sure if the less affluent will hurt, but I would imagine that Golf has the most affluent viewers but a tiny overall number.

The importance here is that as DVR's destroy sitcoms and dramas live sports are the one area people prefer to view live. Which means the NBA and all of the other leagues are in the cat birds seat when it comes to TV contracts the next time around. And Networks love young viewers so the NBA is going to be in good shape.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

This is also only looking at the NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup, World Series, etc. It wasn't looking at the entire NBA season, which makes me think that some of this has to do with the teams/markets involved.

For the NHL you had Chicago v. Boston, two higher income large cities with high cost of living. Where the NBA was Miami v. San Antonio, two smaller markets from states that don't have income tax, so wages are generally lower.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

This is meaningless. What I want to know is how this compares to say the 90's, or even early 00's. Then we will gets some useful information.

I don't have the stats, but I know since the 90's the NBA viewers have always skewed younger than NCAA basketball, College football, NFL, and especially baseball. So this is nothing new. The difference between MLB and the NBA might be growing over the years, but the trend is not new. I doubt anything has changed since the 90's or early '00 by more than 10% in any of the demo stats.

and this translates into money. TV wants younger viewers because advertisers pay more for younger viewers. Advertisers don't really care about those over 50. Not to bore you, but a show like NCIS that has a very large audience skews very old. While a show like The Voice which gets about 65-70% of the total audience of NCIS, but advertisers charge probably 50% more to have a commerical showing during the Voice as NCIS. So whcih show brings in more money? So NBA is a very valueable property to the networks.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I don't have the stats, but I know since the 90's the NBA viewers have always skewed younger than NCAA basketball, College football, NFL, and especially baseball. So this is nothing new. The difference between MLB and the NBA might be growing over the years, but the trend is not new. I doubt anything has changed since the 90's or early '00 by more than 10% in any of the demo stats.

and this translates into money. TV wants younger viewers because advertisers pay more for younger viewers. Advertisers don't really care about those over 50. Not to bore you, but a show like NCIS that has a very large audience skews very old. While a show like The Voice which gets about 65-70% of the total audience of NCIS, but advertisers charge probably 50% more to have a commerical showing during the Voice as NCIS. So whcih show brings in more money? So NBA is a very valueable property to the networks.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

No no, I mean I want to know if it is just a generational thing, or if the NBA loses fans as fans get older.

That is a great question. I do not know the question. Do people change from an NBA fan to a baseball fan when they turn 50? I don't know. I think there us some evidence that baseball is not bringing in new fans under 50 to the needed degree. We'll see another 15 to 20 years

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

That is a great question. I do not know the question. Do people change from an NBA fan to a baseball fan when they turn 50? I don't know. I think there us some evidence that baseball is not bringing in new fans under 50 to the needed degree. We'll see another 15 to 20 years

Baseball is definitely a generational thing. Once the older generations is gone basketball will be the clear cut number 2 team sport in the US.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I'm not sure this conversation can be had without mentioning that the massive black audience the NBA has would drive the numbers younger and less affluent. This also steers them towards the NBA and away from college sports.

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I was a kid back in the 70's but it seems to me that life is a lot faster today. No cable. No internet. No video games. There simply wasn't as much to do. Kids played ball outside and that included more playing baseball. The game of basketball is like a video game, where baseball seems very slow today.

But really. Baseball is not boring. It just really plays out slowly. The moment a pitch is thrown is a thrilling moment. When there's some question if that ball is going over the center fielder's glove, that's exciting. Ever see that moment Kirk Gibson, injured and not expected to play, cranked out a homer with 2 down and 2 strikes...to win the game in the 1988 World Series? I witnessed that live watching a TV in a downtown Indy bar in 1988. That may have been the most amazing moment in sports I have ever seen. Here's a little history:

Gibson is perhaps best known for his one and only plate appearance in the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics. Suffering from a stomach virus and having injured both legs during the NLCS, Gibson was not expected to play at all. In Game 1, however, with the Dodgers trailing by a score of 4–3, Mike Davis on first base, and two out in the ninth inning, manager Tommy Lasorda unexpectedly inserted his hobbled league MVP as a pinch hitter. Gibson, limping back and forth between a pulled left hamstring and a swollen right knee, made his way to the plate to face Oakland's future Hall of FamecloserDennis Eckersley. Gibson quickly got behind in the count, 0–2, but laid off a pair of outside pitches that were called balls. He then kept the count at 2–2 by fouling off a pitch. On the 7th pitch of his at bat, a ball, Davis stole second. With an awkward, almost casual swing, Gibson used pure upper-body strength—and according to Gibson, advanced scouting-based knowledge of what the pitcher would likely throw with that count—to smack a 3–2 backdoorslider over the right-field fence. He hobbled around the bases and pumped his fist as his jubilant teammates stormed the field. The Dodgers won the game, 5–4, and would go on to win the World Series, four games to one.

Edit: BTW, Eckersley had a reputation back in the day. He was like the Michael Jordan of relief pitchers. He may still be the best ever at that...although I don't follow baseball because it's so dog gone boring...

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I was a kid back in the 70's but it seems to me that life is a lot faster today. No cable. No internet. No video games. There simply wasn't as much to do. Kids played ball outside and that included more playing baseball. The game of basketball is like a video game, where baseball seems very slow today.

But really. Baseball is not boring. It just really plays out slowly. The moment a pitch is thrown is a thrilling moment. When there's some question if that ball is going over the center fielder's glove, that's exciting. Ever see that moment Kirk Gibson, injured and not expected to play, cranked out a homer with 2 down and 2 strikes...to win the game in the 1988 World Series? I witnessed that live watching a TV in a downtown Indy bar in 1988. That may have been the most amazing moment in sports I have ever seen. Here's a little history:

Gibson is perhaps best known for his one and only plate appearance in the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics. Suffering from a stomach virus and having injured both legs during the NLCS, Gibson was not expected to play at all. In Game 1, however, with the Dodgers trailing by a score of 4–3, Mike Davis on first base, and two out in the ninth inning, manager Tommy Lasorda unexpectedly inserted his hobbled league MVP as a pinch hitter. Gibson, limping back and forth between a pulled left hamstring and a swollen right knee, made his way to the plate to face Oakland's future Hall of FamecloserDennis Eckersley. Gibson quickly got behind in the count, 0–2, but laid off a pair of outside pitches that were called balls. He then kept the count at 2–2 by fouling off a pitch. On the 7th pitch of his at bat, a ball, Davis stole second. With an awkward, almost casual swing, Gibson used pure upper-body strength—and according to Gibson, advanced scouting-based knowledge of what the pitcher would likely throw with that count—to smack a 3–2 backdoorslider over the right-field fence. He hobbled around the bases and pumped his fist as his jubilant teammates stormed the field. The Dodgers won the game, 5–4, and would go on to win the World Series, four games to one.

Edit: BTW, Eckersley had a reputation back in the day. He was like the Michael Jordan of relief pitchers. He may still be the best ever at that...although I don't follow baseball because it's so dog gone boring...

The greatest at-bat of all time.

My issue with baseball is I have no idea how much time I'm committing. I know with every other sport, but with baseball, it could be 2.5 hours, it could be 4 hours, and anything in between. They need to make games quicker IMO.

UncleBuck:

"See how stupid those fans sound complaining about the officials. That is one reason why I hate when Pacers fans complain about the refs - does not come across well at all, no matter the merit. "

Re: NBA viewers are younger and earn less money than other sports viewers.

I like going to baseball games but it doesn't play well as a TV sport, especially when compared to football and basketball which televise extremely well. I routinely watch multiple NFL or NBA games in a row on a single day. When's the last time you watched more than one baseball game in a day?

There are cultural reasons reasons why baseball is popular with older people (it was the dominant national and cultural sport when they were young, most played it as kids) but most of those things have faded recently. I'm certain soccer will be more popular in America than baseball in a few decades.